News Release

News Release
Chamber of Commerce
1703 W. BETHANY HOME RD. • PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85015 • (602) 249·0670
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 1981
PHOENIX -- A collection of specially commiss i.oned portraits of
historic Arizona leaders was unveiled today as part of the 20th
anniversary conunemoration of Chris- Town Shopping Center,
the nation' s first enclosed shopping mall.
The portraits, by Roger Whitney, a well-known Phoenix
artist, were conunissioned by Chris- Town merchants and have
received the endorsement of the Arizona Department of Education.
The Central Arizona Museum cooperated in the selection of the
subjects and assisted with research in order to portray each
subject as accurately as possible.
Joan Lake, Chris- Town general manager, announced the
portraits would be on public display at the shopping center from
August 24 through Septemb~r 30, 1981. In addition, reproductions
of the portraits and biographies of each subject will be distributed
to every school in Arizona, according to Lake .
• • • m ore
Chris- Town Portraits
August 20, 1981
Page two
"Chris- Town is pr oud to have commissioned this project, and we
hope that this will provide a better understanding for everyone --
especially students -- of the contributions made by early leaders in
fashioning a raw wilderness into this dynamic state . We are proud
too, to have the services of Roger Whitney who has made many
contributions in portraying local and national sports figures , 11 said
Mrs. Lake .
Called "Arizona Her itage : A Commemorative Portrait
Collection, 11 the series portrays subjects spanning a period in the
state 1s history of more than 200 years. Included are leaders from
the fields of education, agriculture, politics, religion, the military
and several r epresentatives from Indian cultures .
Each portrait was executed in oil penc il and is a composite of
the individual and subjects which graphically depict the contrib utions
made, accor ding to Whitney. "I am especially indebted to the Central
Ari zona Museum1s research which ensured not only authenticity, but
that the first twenty subjects we selected provided a representative
cross section of the pioneers who were instrumental in setting the future
course of Arizona, 11 he said.
• •• more
Chris- Town Portraits
August 20, 1981
Page Three
Lake also annoWlced that reproductions of the series would
be available to the public at a nominal charge , and a larger format ,
limited edition series of the portraits -- signed and numbered --
would also be available for purchase. P roceeds f r om the sale of
the limited editions will be used for the Chris- Town Arizona
Heritage Scholarship Fund.
The selection of the conunemorative collection as the focal
point for Chris- Town's 20th anniversary relates to the shopping
center's role as a pioneer in the development of shopping centers .
As the first fully - enclosed shopping mall, Chr is - Town opened
August 24, 1961 on a former alfalfa field. Today it has 1. 2 million
square feet of leased space, double its original sizeq The shopping
center has been designated as the cor e of Urban Village Four i.n
Phoenix's master plan for growth, Concept 2000.

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This collection was generously donated to the Arizona Capitol Museum by the Chris-Town Chamber of Commerce in 1982.

RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

Copyright and/or publication rights for all images in this collection are retained by this institution. Contact the Arizona Capitol Museum at 602-926-3620 or http://www.azlibrary.gov/museum for further information.

Paintings were photographed using a Nikon D700 camera and saved as .jpeg images.

REPOSITORY

Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. Arizona Capitol Museum.

Full Text

News Release
Chamber of Commerce
1703 W. BETHANY HOME RD. • PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85015 • (602) 249·0670
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 1981
PHOENIX -- A collection of specially commiss i.oned portraits of
historic Arizona leaders was unveiled today as part of the 20th
anniversary conunemoration of Chris- Town Shopping Center,
the nation' s first enclosed shopping mall.
The portraits, by Roger Whitney, a well-known Phoenix
artist, were conunissioned by Chris- Town merchants and have
received the endorsement of the Arizona Department of Education.
The Central Arizona Museum cooperated in the selection of the
subjects and assisted with research in order to portray each
subject as accurately as possible.
Joan Lake, Chris- Town general manager, announced the
portraits would be on public display at the shopping center from
August 24 through Septemb~r 30, 1981. In addition, reproductions
of the portraits and biographies of each subject will be distributed
to every school in Arizona, according to Lake .
• • • m ore
Chris- Town Portraits
August 20, 1981
Page two
"Chris- Town is pr oud to have commissioned this project, and we
hope that this will provide a better understanding for everyone --
especially students -- of the contributions made by early leaders in
fashioning a raw wilderness into this dynamic state . We are proud
too, to have the services of Roger Whitney who has made many
contributions in portraying local and national sports figures , 11 said
Mrs. Lake .
Called "Arizona Her itage : A Commemorative Portrait
Collection, 11 the series portrays subjects spanning a period in the
state 1s history of more than 200 years. Included are leaders from
the fields of education, agriculture, politics, religion, the military
and several r epresentatives from Indian cultures .
Each portrait was executed in oil penc il and is a composite of
the individual and subjects which graphically depict the contrib utions
made, accor ding to Whitney. "I am especially indebted to the Central
Ari zona Museum1s research which ensured not only authenticity, but
that the first twenty subjects we selected provided a representative
cross section of the pioneers who were instrumental in setting the future
course of Arizona, 11 he said.
• •• more
Chris- Town Portraits
August 20, 1981
Page Three
Lake also annoWlced that reproductions of the series would
be available to the public at a nominal charge , and a larger format ,
limited edition series of the portraits -- signed and numbered --
would also be available for purchase. P roceeds f r om the sale of
the limited editions will be used for the Chris- Town Arizona
Heritage Scholarship Fund.
The selection of the conunemorative collection as the focal
point for Chris- Town's 20th anniversary relates to the shopping
center's role as a pioneer in the development of shopping centers .
As the first fully - enclosed shopping mall, Chr is - Town opened
August 24, 1961 on a former alfalfa field. Today it has 1. 2 million
square feet of leased space, double its original sizeq The shopping
center has been designated as the cor e of Urban Village Four i.n
Phoenix's master plan for growth, Concept 2000.